On-shore oilfield regions may span large geographical areas of remote terrain with limited accessibility and under-developed transport links. These regions are often characterized by a multitude of oilfield well sites, interconnected to public road infrastructure via unpaved or gravel roads. A well site may consist of a clearing on which a well pad has been constructed and on which an oil or gas drilling rig is installed. Additional equipment may also be located at a well site in order to enable processing or storage of either the hydrocarbon product itself, or of other fluids or materials used as part of its production, such as water.
Water is used as an injectate for hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) wherein it is injected into shale rock under pressure in order to create or expand cracks to facilitate the extraction of subterranean natural gas and oil. Water may also often be recovered, produced or released as part of the hydraulic fracturing operation. This water may be a return of the injected water or may be underground water that is released as a result of the fracturing. The quantity of the returned water can often be large, for example, exceeding by far the quantity of oil obtained from the well. The nature of the fracturing process therefore brings about a requirement not only to source large amounts of water at the outset of a project, but also to dispose-of or treat and recycle water during the project or upon its completion. Such water may be stored in frac-water pits, also known as frac ponds or frac-water impoundments.
To assist with efficient water management in the energy industry, tools to facilitate a dynamic online platform for water sourcing, recycling and disposal may be employed in which buyers and sellers of water source or disposal capacity may advertise or exchange information related to either an availability-of or a requirement-for water, including a number of relevant attributes such as its quantity, location, type, and quality. Such an online platform may address not only the water resource needs associated with oilfield exploration and development, but also the need and supply of other associated oilfield resources, services, or infrastructure.
For maximum utility, the online platform requires up-to-date information regarding well sites and other oilfield-related features. To identify these, aerial images may be processed to pinpoint their locations, to classify the type of oilfield feature or to assess a current status of the oilfield feature. Oilfield feature types may include for example, an oilfield development site, a frac-water pit (sometimes known as a frac pond or frac-water impoundment), a well pad, a drilling rig, pipeline infrastructure, a service road, a clearing, a tank battery, a proppant store, a drilling reserve pit, a frac spread, a sand mine, a producing well, a flare system and so forth. Such information may be stored within an oilfield feature database that is accessible by users or subscribers of the online platform. Users of the online platform may span a number of different job functions related to the oilfield energy industry, including for example, employees of oilfield operators, construction contractors, and suppliers of resources, equipment or services.
Many of these users may be involved in field work or field visits to well sites or processing facilities. Mobile applications (running on a mobile device such as a smartphone or other suitable computing platform such as a tablet) have also been developed that may communicate with an online platform to allow a database of known oilfield sites to be searched and displayed for example visually on map. The mobile application may also display additional information regarding the oilfield sites to the user, such as the aforementioned availability-of or need-for oilfield water or other resources, materials or services.
Online platforms may also be enhanced to provide navigational information and services such that personnel may efficiently locate oilfield sites. In the case that a user's mobile device is location-enabled (for example incorporates a Global Positioning System—GPS—or other suitable location system receiver) an application within the mobile device may support the navigational services and guide users to a particular oilfield site of interest. The mobile application may also send information regarding the location of the mobile device to the online platform where it may be used for example by oilfield operators to locate their employees.
Oilfield workers are heavily reliant on vehicular transportation to convey themselves, construction machinery, materials, supplies, oil, gas or water, from one place to another within oilfield regions, such as between oilfield well sites, frac-water pits and processing facilities. Whilst the aforementioned online platforms may be able to provide information regarding oilfield features or to assist users in navigating to them, there is currently a lack of detailed knowledge concerning the roads that interconnect them, and this can inhibit the practical utility of the system. The remote nature of the terrain, coupled with the fact that much of the land is privately owned, leads to a situation in which a high proportion of roads in oilfield regions are unknown to current road mapping databases, navigation platforms or applications. Signage in these regions is also limited or non-existent. In such circumstances, oilfield workers may spend significant time trying to locate oilfield sites or correcting for navigational errors, leading to a loss in operational efficiency and an increase in costs. Furthermore, the quality of roads in oilfield regions may vary substantially, for example from wide and smooth paved surfaces, to narrow dirt, gravel or rocky tracks and some roads may be unsuitable for certain types of vehicle, or poorly suited to a certain task.
In light of the above, there is therefore a need for improved systems and methods for determining the routes and characteristics of roads unknown to road mapping databases, particularly in oilfield regions.